Yesterday, a Florida alligator attacked a bicyclist, officials say.
According to a Facebook post from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday, at around 11 a.m., a man was riding his bike in Halpatiokee Regional Park in Stuart, Florida, when he lost control and fell into a body of water.
At that point, a nine-foot alligator latched onto the man, biting and severely injuring him.The cyclist, who hasn’t been identified, managed to escape the female gator’s jaws, and crawled to an area where a bystander assisted him, the post added.
Martin County Fire Rescue, the Martin County Sheriff's Office and Florida Fish and Wildlife drove the bite victim to a medical helicopter crew. The current status of the cyclist has not been reported.
As for the gator, trapper John Davidson located and captured it, and FWC officials are further investigating the attack.
According to the FWC, about 1.3 million gators live in the state and inhabit all 67 Florida counties in almost every brackish and freshwater body, and, occasionally, saltwater.
Alligator mating season runs between May and June, which mean the animals can be more aggressive towards humans. In late June or early July, females begin building nests and depositing their eggs. Officials didn’t mention whether or not the bicyclist landed near a nest.
Alligator attacks are rare. FWC data shows that in 2020, a total of 12 alligator attacks occurred, with an average of seven unprovoked bites per year over the last 10 years. The likelihood of a Florida resident being seriously injured from an unprovoked alligator incident is about one in 3.1 million.
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